Let Me Know

Tools

Please forgive my imperfections, bad habits and such. My biggest weakness is that I just care too much. I apologize for at times being so clingy. You just mean so much to me. If I interrupt you while you are busy at home, let me know so I can leave you alone. If I interrupt your conversation with someone else, let me know and I will leave you to yourselves. If I start to become too annoying, let me know, so you can stop worrying. If I message you but you do not wish to talk, just let me know and I will stop… If you get tired of me, just let me know. Just say the word and I will get up and go.

Folks who feel the need to ask their partners or family members for "space" are likely introverts who need time to themselves for the sake of their mental health...yet there are those who are SO emotionally insecure that they perceive this need for space as a personal "attack." My dad is one of those people. He is filled with love, yes, but he is also anxiety-ridden and filled with trained self-loathing. And he has often said words like the ones in the original post, but they come across so often as emotionally manipulative and energy-stealing, guilt-tripping the one actually asking for space into giving him constant reassurance that the space request is not intended as a hurtful thing or that the person requesting time alone is truly not angry, least of all with

him. So my advice to ANYONE who is extroverted and loves an introvert: your introverted lover or family member does not love you any less just because they ask for space. We introverts are simply more self-contained, quite often psychically/empathically sensitive and we need time to "decompress" after school or work. We often need time to shake off the negative vibes from where we've been and how we do this often necessitates a certain amount of alone time. If expected to interact with people before we've had our alone time, you can be assured we are likely going to be wound up and hyper, unable to focus on much else. I cannot explain it any more than this. My intention here was to inform, not criticize. <3